Robots were front and center during the 2026 Spring Festival Gala on primetime Chinese TV, which typically draws more than a billion viewers internationally.
Hangzhou-based Unitree Robotics followed its viral 2025 showing with a troupe of its humanoids demonstrating advanced martial arts and dancing capabilities alongside a group of young human performers. Unlike last year, when 16 of the robotics firm’s full-sized H1 humanoids performed a synchronized traditional Chinese folk dance, this year’s display mainly featured Unitree’s compact G1 robots.
The humanoids have soared in popularity thanks to their relatively low starting price of $16,000. However, the variants on stage were almost certainly higher-end configurations that start around $60,000.
Their moves were much more acrobatic and fluid than last year’s robotic performers. They did aerial tricks, vertical wall runs, and showcased iconic wushu techniques. The Drunken Fist, playful in appearance but explosive in power, came alive through staggering steps and sudden bursts of force. They demonstrated full body coordination and precise timing, handling wooden staffs and nunchakus, swinging them with tight rhythm and sharp control.
Unitree’s next-generation full sized humanoid, the H2, came out for the sword dance segment that carried historical weight. For obvious reasons, the sword-slinging robot performed at a safe distance from the children with whom it shared the stage.
Unitree is approaching household name status. as it reportedly heads toward an initial public offering (IPO) on the tech heavy Shanghai Star Market. Its founder, hardware engineer Wang Xingxing, has credited the company’s participation in the 2021 Spring Festival Gala with accelerating its ascent.
In 2026, Unitree’s robots shared the stage with an eclectic array of machines as China frames robotic advancements as a source of national pride.
Beijing’s NOETIX Robotics brought its compact humanoids and a hyper-realistic grandmother for a comedic skit, while Shanghai-based Agibot’s Lingxi X2 acted as a presenter, with playful analysis that its sensors detected an 800 percent increase in horse related searches across the Internet.
Wuxi-based MagicLab’s compact Z1 humanoids acted as backup dancers for a performance called, “We Are Made in China.” Fresh off a strange encounter with the rapper Cardi B in San Francisco, MagicLab is positioning the robot as an alternative to Unitree’s G1.
Also, PNDbotics’ Adam demonstrated its Tai Chi skills that earned the bipedal humanoid a gold model during the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing. The routine, called “Parting the Wild Horse’s Mane,” embodied softness overcoming strength.
The televised gala was only part of China’s growing robotic army’s involvement in the Chinese New Year festivities. Read more about how the robots kicked in the Year of the Horse here.